A bill passed by Georgia’s legislature that would have criminalized unauthorized access of computer systems and allowed companies to “hack back” in defense against breaches was vetoed on May 8 by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. The veto came after many weeks of opposition from information security firms and professionals, as well as major technology companies—including Google and Microsoft executives, who expressed concern that the bill would actually make it more difficult to secure computer systems.

Given that Georgia is the home of Fort Gordon, an Army base that serves as home to units of the Army’s Cyber Command and to parts of the National Security Agency, and that Georgia has become home to an increasing number of cybersecurity firms as a result both of the Army/NSA presence and research at Georgia’s universities, Deal realized after feedback from the industry that the bill could have resulted in inadvertent damage.